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The Good and the Beautiful *printing*


MDL
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Has anyone managed to print the PDF? I have level 2 that I'm thinking of using, and I want to go over it with my son, but the iPad cannot handle it, and even my desktop mac is balking--the printer fails every time. I even tried printing just the first half, but I think the file is just too big.

 

Should I just order the printed version?

 

Bonus question about placement. Son reads at advanced level but flopped must of the other placement test items. I was ready to put him in 2, but this placement is telling me K. I guess I can breeze through the lessons that are easy for him, but if I have to purchase all the levels....what have you done?

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Listening in, because I think I'm going to use this with my second grade advanced reader next year also. I didn't do the placement test, but can't imagine going lower than level 2, given that the reading in it is very easy for her. We will use it for spelling work (she is not a good speller).

 

My iPad handles the file fine, but I haven't tried printing it. It's long enough that I thought I'd probably order, especially since I want to use the handwriting book as well. What program are you trying to open it in on your iPad? Mine unzipped in GoodReader.

Thanks. I've been able to open it via google drive. But I wanted to put it in the Kindle app. Maybe I'll try Good Reads. Is that a good solution for unzipping on an iPad?

 

I don't want him to have any gaps, but I'd rather not go below 2 either. We have been using ELTL (just finishing 1) and AAS (partway through level 2). I knew he wouldn't be able to spell the words in the assessment (talk, house, eight, etc) because we haven't covered those yet. And I've never really asked him to spell aloud before. Usually he uses tiles or writes it down, unless it was super easy.

 

I wonder if I could use AAS for most of the year and skip TG&TB spelling, but use it when we travel in lieu of packing all the pieces to AAS.

Edited by MDL
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Following because I'm interested as well. I too have second graders and was unsure where I would place them. They are pretty good readers (at or above grade level). Their spelling is just OK, but we use AAS and I would probably just continue with that.

I'm debating between TG&TB and AAR, in which we are about 2/3 through level 2. Its going OK overall, but its obviously expensive and my girls don't love the activity sheets.

 

I have level 2 downloaded but I haven't tried printing. Somebody on here said that the printing was so frustrating (wouldn't print right) that she suggested paying for the hard copies.

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kand, I haven't looked through mine too much yet. Are you able to compare it (the reading portion) to any other curricula? I think I need to print out mine to try to get a better feel for it and see how it compares to our AAR.

 

I have read that the spelling component is on the weaker side.

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Have you downloaded the full thing, or just looked at the sample on the website? I got a better idea from the full download. I think the reading level is actually pretty good for second grade, it's not easy by any means, mine just is an early, advanced reader. It would have been probably right on target for my second and third children.

 

Spelling, on the other hand, looks best to me for a natural speller. It would have been fine for my oldest in second grade, but is above the spelling level for any of the rest of mine (one is dyslexic). It seems to consist mostly of dictating several words that follow the same spelling pattern, followed by a sentence. That was completely sufficient for my natural speller, but I think most kids who struggle with spelling need a little more explicit teaching. I have noticed in general that Charlotte Mason style programs seem to only gear spelling toward natural spellers. I think her philosophy was that kids would learn spelling from reading and copy work, which is what I thought too with my first child, but I found out otherwise with numbers two, three, and four ;). ELTL is the only Charlotte Mason style language arts I can think of that uses a spelling method better suited for kids who need very explicit phonogram and rule instructions.

 

Now that I've been looking through it even more to answer your questions though, I'm back to thinking that it does look good for my dd, even if we skim over some of the reading.

 

Adding: I keep looking more, and now I'm seeing by the time you get to lesson 26, it does start getting into more specific spelling rules, dealing with syllibication, etc. It's an awful lot to print if you're not sure you're going to use it, but if you can view it on an iPad or a computer and really look through the whole thing, should give you a good idea. I'm going to keep going through it today more carefully like I'm doing now, to make my decision. I'm glad for the questions being asked, to get me to take the time to really look through the entire level more carefully.

Thank you so much!! That really helps. I "purchased" the free download so I do have it. I prefer to browse through a physical copy, but as you said its quite large and I don't want to print it all out yet. I'm going to pull it up tonight and try to read through it and get a better feel. I love the look of the readers! Some of the stories are really cute. My girls don't love the stories in AAR but I think they would like these.

 

I don't know. I will look through it but I'm so tempted to just bite the bullet and pay for the set to give it a try. I know this is subjective, but do you think its something your 2nd grader would enjoy?

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I purchased K. I am waiting for it to arrive.  I will be getting 1 and 4 if K goes well this summer.  I love the look of it.  I absolutely love the readers.  I love the color pages and the art included. My ds asked why LA meant language arts when there is no art. He said this really IS language arts. LOL He is excited about the art part.

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I just went through the 2nd Level guide and I'm torn about which level. They can definitely read some of the words in the guide, even though we haven't yet covered them in AAR or AAS, and they know some of the grammar already (we just finished FLL 1) but we have not yet studied most of the phonics rules in the books so I'm worried about it sticking. I just downloaded level 1 and am going through it now, but it kind of looks like we are between the two. 

 

I LOVE the paintings and the illustrations and poems! I am, however, nervous somewhat of the lack of a formal teachers guide. I guess I'm used to AAS, AAR and FLL, where they pretty much tell you exactly what to say and we cover topics at length. This one seems to introduce a phonics rule and then immediately go into to a word list that the students master. I think I am just used to more hand holding. 

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I'm trying to look through Level 2, and I love the art studies too! I also think the phonics is just the right amount of review for my guy to not have him bored. I'm a little concerned the editing might be above him, and the spelling moves at a fast clip, it seems. However, there are so many variations in font, presentation and color it think it will engage him nicely--and he is pretty quick to learn if he is engaged.

 

I like that there are still divided lines for copy work in most places. Cottage Press is on a single line for 2nd....

 

The more I look at it, the more I like it. Sometimes it can be so hard to make a choice. TG&TB looks so much meatier than ELTL, and I like the that everything is in one book, basically. I might even be able to drop my plan for IEW Bible Heros writing for him. (Which I bought because he wanted to be like his big brother and do key word outlines when he was in K)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I decided to go ahead with lesson 1. It looks like we can breeze through some of it, but I don't feel comfortable going up to level 2 just yet as there are definitely things we haven't covered. I ordered hard copies of the reader and the phonogram cards. I'm going to have DH try to print off the curriculum guide at his office. Hopefully it works, because I couldn't get it to print at home for me either and I need two copies.

Edited by tdbates78
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My Mac printed it fine, I did some in color but then others in B&W. I then didn't print the art pages and plan to pull those up on my computer. 

 

When DD (5.5) did the placement test 2 months ago, it didn't have the grammar and spelling. They just added those in the last few weeks. DD placed into level 1 and barely missed level 2 on the old assessments. On the new assessment she would be in K. K would be way too boring for a reading kiddo IMO. The spelling and grammar in the assessment for Level 1 seem a bit out of place and the spelling words are taught within the Level 1 itself. So it somewhat baffled me when I saw the new assessment. 

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I had had problems printing, until I skipped printing the cover. I also have only been printing about 20 pages at a time (for 3 kids) because I was getting low on ink and also I was trying it out.... hope that helps someone.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

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My Mac printed it fine, I did some in color but then others in B&W. I then didn't print the art pages and plan to pull those up on my computer.

 

When DD (5.5) did the placement test 2 months ago, it didn't have the grammar and spelling. They just added those in the last few weeks. DD placed into level 1 and barely missed level 2 on the old assessments. On the new assessment she would be in K. K would be way too boring for a reading kiddo IMO. The spelling and grammar in the assessment for Level 1 seem a bit out of place and the spelling words are taught within the Level 1 itself. So it somewhat baffled me when I saw the new assessment.

The assessment baffled me as well. I would say my girls could easily skip through half or more of book 1, but then there were challenging things we havent even begun to touch that seem a little out-of-sync. And level 2 has sentence diagraming which I know we arent ready for. If we were only doing the reading portion I would have picked level 2. Although with that said I'm not sure about the spelling. We already have AA2 ready to go for the fall. I'm going to give TG&TB spelling a go, but keeping AAS2 as a back-up plan in case the spelling isnt working out. I'm also wondering if TG&TB writing is enough?. But overal I'm excited to try it. It's difficult to get a feel until we dive in and try. It would be great to get all LA built into one program. Edited by tdbates78
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I'm going to be using it with my fourth grader next year. I think I'm just going to buy it. Printing it out seems like way too much effort. LOL

Are you using level 4?

 

I am ordering all but the student book.  It is B&W.  I can easily print that.  Super cheap. So that saves some money.  

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I am giving it a go this summer. Level 7,5(out soon!),3, and 1. Today was our first day. I printed the first 50 pages of everything. It's only been a day but I'm liking it. I like that dc can do more that one lesson a day. They love the art scattered throughout. I think my level 1 dd and level 7 ds liked it the most. But they all seemed to enjoy it. I like that it's beefy yet in small chunks KWIM?

 

Agree on the spelling. I am going to try it but keep my spelling power close. I have 2 natural spellers and 2 nots 😃

 

My dd loves the level 1 reader. The reading is easy for her but everything else fits. Actually all my kids read above their level, but I have them read good lit on top (which is suggested).

 

Really like what I see as far as writing instruction and lit terms and analysis (which is why I decided to try TH&TB). These are my week points so take that for what it's worth. 😉

 

ETA: tried pulling up on my kindle but no luck. Anyone else?

 

Kristen

Edited by 5sons
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I am having DH print two copies of the book today at work. Just received my binding machine in the mail yesterday so I can start binding! I purchased a hard copy of the reader and the phonics cards, both of which also came in the mail yesterday. I LOVE the reader! So colorful and cute! However I am still second guessing myself on the level I chose (level 1 for my rising 2nd graders) who read above average but are not familiar with a lot of the phonics rules (and grammar rules for that matter) that appear in level 2. The first half of the reader definitely looks way too easy, but of course I have piles of appropriate readers they will read in addition to the reader stories. I'm a bit more old school when it comes to school books and much prefer to have a physical copy to flip through. It will be easier for me to figure out where to start once I have that copy in my hands, as I imagine we will be skipping over quite a bit of the beginning lessons. Since I already have a free PDF of level 2 I figure it's best to start a level lower, skip over what we've already done and transition to level 2 when we are ready. 

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I am having DH print two copies of the book today at work. Just received my binding machine in the mail yesterday so I can start binding! I purchased a hard copy of the reader and the phonics cards, both of which also came in the mail yesterday. I LOVE the reader! So colorful and cute! However I am still second guessing myself on the level I chose (level 1 for my rising 2nd graders) who read above average but are not familiar with a lot of the phonics rules (and grammar rules for that matter) that appear in level 2. The first half of the reader definitely looks way too easy, but of course I have piles of appropriate readers they will read in addition to the reader stories. I'm a bit more old school when it comes to school books and much prefer to have a physical copy to flip through. It will be easier for me to figure out where to start once I have that copy in my hands, as I imagine we will be skipping over quite a bit of the beginning lessons. Since I already have a free PDF of level 2 I figure it's best to start a level lower, skip over what we've already done and transition to level 2 when we are ready. 

 

I am starting this summer and will accelerate my advanced ds through Level K.  We had a phonics heavy year last year(WAY TOO MUCH-my fault) So, we took a break.  We are moving through level K quite quickly just filling in gaps.  I think the readers don't have to challenge in order to show mastery of concept.  We remediated one of my kids with phonics and easy-for-her reading exercises in grade 6.  I told her I knew that she could read, but we were just covering some things she needed to become a BETTER reader in the end. And we started from square #1.  I gave her on-grade reading assignments in other subjects during that time.

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So my DH came home and said he had trouble printing it! He is going to try again tomorrow. He said the first time it got stuck on page 31 (level 1) and is going to "try something" tomorrow. He is in IT so I guess I'll trust him :)

 

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I am having DH print two copies of the book today at work. Just received my binding machine in the mail yesterday so I can start binding!

 

Where did you get your binding machine? Is it working like you expected? Never thought to look for one of these, but I think I would like one now 😊

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Where did you get your binding machine? Is it working like you expected? Never thought to look for one of these, but I think I would like one now 😊

I found a brand new one on eBay, with 200 combs and free shipping, for $35! I was looking at the Proclik on amazon, as we'll as a few others, but I'm happy with the price and, so far, the quality of mine. Love the convenience! Here is a link: there is one left!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252933949845?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

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Update

 

I was able to get the level 2 book to print, but only in small chunks, and excluding the cover. And then I struggled with the phonics cards. I wasted 21 sheets of yellow card stock when they printed single sided. Luckily, I had enough to try again, but they are awful to cut out!

 

Now, it seems I need to buy the reader, and I'm having trouble finding the required book, The Beatinest Boy. [emoji19]

 

She says the reader is optional, but instructions call for 20 minutes of reading the reader before each lesson. So, if you don't have the reader, do you just have the child read whatever?

 

I wish I had just ordered the physical copy of everything.

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Update

 

I was able to get the level 2 book to print, but only in small chunks, and excluding the cover. And then I struggled with the phonics cards. I wasted 21 sheets of yellow card stock when they printed single sided. Luckily, I had enough to try again, but they are awful to cut out!

 

Now, it seems I need to buy the reader, and I'm having trouble finding the required book, The Beatinest Boy. [emoji19]

 

She says the reader is optional, but instructions call for 20 minutes of reading the reader before each lesson. So, if you don't have the reader, do you just have the child read whatever?

 

I wish I had just ordered the physical copy of everything.

I am so sorry to hear of all of the issues. Ours printed in batches pretty easily but I didn't print the cards since I already had some just like them. Now I am glad I skipped it.

 

The Beatinest Boy I ended up ordering used on Amazon. They had quite a few when I first did it. You could also try Better World Books and our library had a copy (which I found out after I ordered it). So it might be worth trying there too. Barnes and Noble has the Nook version for 2.99 also.

Edited by nixpix5
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I am so sorry to hear of all of the issues. Ours printed in batches pretty easily but I didn't print the cards since I already had some just like them. Now I am glad I skipped it.

 

The Beatinest Boy I ended up ordering used on Amazon. They had quite a few when I first did it. You could also try Better World Books and our library had a copy (which I found out after I ordered it). So it might be worth trying there too. Barnes and Noble has the Nook version for 2.99 also.

Thanks, Nixpix,

 

I just finished cutting up the phonics cards. I, too, nearly skipped them because I have all levels of AAS. But, I always feel like everything has to match up perfectly[emoji849] they're messy, but usable!

 

Our library has all the books except Beatinest Boy. I did find it on Amazon, I just have an aversion to paying for shipping and things not being PRime and arriving in two days. Haha they also had a kindle version for $2.99, but holding a book is nice....

 

Jenny is having a sale next week, so maybe I'll just order the reader. I'm a sucker for curriculum on sale...

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Update

 

 

She says the reader is optional, but instructions call for 20 minutes of reading the reader before each lesson. So, if you don't have the reader, do you just have the child read whatever?

 

I wish I had just ordered the physical copy of everything.

If you don't have the reader you use that time to read other appropriate level books

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Update

 

I was able to get the level 2 book to print, but only in small chunks, and excluding the cover. And then I struggled with the phonics cards. I wasted 21 sheets of yellow card stock when they printed single sided. Luckily, I had enough to try again, but they are awful to cut out!

 

Now, it seems I need to buy the reader, and I'm having trouble finding the required book, The Beatinest Boy. [emoji19]

 

She says the reader is optional, but instructions call for 20 minutes of reading the reader before each lesson. So, if you don't have the reader, do you just have the child read whatever?

 

I wish I had just ordered the physical copy of everything.

My husband cannot get level 1 to print. It stalls on page 33 and then keeps stalling afterwards. We velieve its the pages with painting images on them. I paid for the cards and the reader. Wish I would have just paid for two copies of the guide as well.

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I've got a Mac and have printed out the whole Booklist and parts of the Nature Journal and Level 1 LA. I tried printing from Adobe Reader but it would get stuck. However, when I switched a setting from "actual size" to "fit", it printed just fine. I've discovered that setting when trying (and failing) to print other large .pdf documents. Don't know if that is anyone else's printing issue, but try it if you're having trouble.

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